Freight car container



Aug. 22, 1933. WQQDRUFF 1,923,604

FREIGHT CAR CONTAINER Filed Aug. 21, 19:51 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 J a '3 '3 a 9 '3 a a o. X A

Aug. 22, 1933- G. c. WOODRUFF FREIGHT CAR CONTAINER 4 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 21, 1951 Aug. 22, 1933 G. c. WOODRUFF FREIGHT CAR CONTAINER Filed Aug. 21, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 3 run $01 Aug. 22, 1933. G. c. WOODRUF'F FREIGHT CAR CONTAINER Filed Aug. 21, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 HHHHHHHEB V LAQ Patented Aug. 22, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,923,604 FREIGHT CAR CONTAINER Delaware Application August 21, 1931. Serial No. 558,587 10 Claims. (01. 189-46) The primary object of my invention is to provide a freight car container with a door opening having a width substantially the same as the inside Width of the container, which container may be used for shipping various kinds of materials but is especially desirable for shipping hollow tile, face brick, sewer pipe and similar materials Which are adapted to be loaded and unloaded with greater facility by the provision of such width of door openings.

A further object of my invention is to make the doors for the container either one piece doors, or double doors.

A, still further object of my invention is to make each door in two or more sections hinged together; and with these and other objects in view, my invention consists of the parts and combination of parts as will be hereinafter pointed out.

In the drawings: V

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a container embodying my invention, one-half being in section.

Figure 2 is a side elevation one-half being in section.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the container, one-half being in section.

Figure 4 is a detail transverse sectional view through the container at the corner posts showing a single door formed of two hinged sections.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail transverse sectional' view of container door and a corner post.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the hinge mounting of the door.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view of one of the lower corners of a legless container.

Figure 8 .is an enlarged detail sectional view of the door threshold of the container.

It will be noted from the drawings that the width of the door opening of the container has been made almost the same width as the inside Width of the container, the provision of combined corner posts and door posts of suitable design accounting for the difference in the two dimensions. This is important for there are conditions under which doors practically the width of the containers on both sides are advantageous, especially where it is desired to load through the containers, after the custom of loading through the old type box cars.

The container 1 is legs 2, and is of the general type shown in many of my patents, as for instance Patent 1,807,268 May 26, 1931 In order to provide the container with a of the container,

provided with supporting.

door opening of substantially the inside width of the container I use a combined container corner and door post comprising the angle irons 3 and 4 suitably riveted together by means of the rivets 5, the angle 3 being riveted to the walls of the container by means of rivets 6.

Hinge leaves 7. are suitably secured to the Walls of the container by means of rivets 8, and are provided at their outer ends with inwardly projecting knuckles 7. If desired, or found necessary I may secure a weather proofing packing 9 to the angle 4 by means of the bolts 10.

The doors 11 may be single doors extending the entire width of the door epening, but I prefer to provide two doors for each opening, and in this connection, it will be understood that two diametrically opposite sides or the container may have door openings. These doors are made of, suitable gauge metal and are dished or panshaped, being provided with marginal outturned flanges, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

, Hinge straps l6 are secured to the outer face of the door by means of the rivets 17, the outer ends of said straps being bent outwardly as at 18 to lay flat against the flange 12 of the door to which it is secured by rivets 19, the ends of the straps being bent, over the outer edge of the flange 12 and fashioned as a second hinge knuckle 29 coupled to the knuckle 8" by the plntle 21. It will be observed that by the arrangement specified the body of the door closes against the transversely disposed arms or flanges of the angle irons 4, which are riveted to and reinforced by the correspondingly arranged arms or flanges of the angle irons 3, thus providing door jambs or posts which while of light weight are of maximum strength, that the 12 of the closed door lie parallel with and spaced from the forwardly extending rms or flanges of the angle arms 4, and that the registering knuckles 7 and 26 of the hinges lie in advance oi the door and in line with such spaces, whereby a doorway of the full width of thecontaineris permitted and proper clearance? ailorded between the forwardly projecting flanges of the angles i and door flanges in the opening and closing movements of the door.

One of the doors 11 is provided with a weather strip 22 which is riveted to the door flange 1 by means of the rivets 23, said strip comprising a substantially U-shaped piece of metal the leg 24 of which overlaps the flange 14- of the other doon. thus eiil'ciently' sealing the joint between the doors when in closed position.

In the event that these containers are used with the type of car shown in the Alfred H. Smith patents, as for instance Reissue Patent 16,073 May 19, 1925. I provide the containers with guide shoes 25 of the general type shown in said reissue patent. In this instance, I have shown the guide shoes secured to the doors. The doors are also provided with reinforcing bars 26 strengthened by corrugations 27 which materially rigidify the door. The door is provided with a suitable route car bracket 28.

A suitable lock is provided for the doors and as shown, this look is composed of two rods 29-30 to the outer ends of which are pivotally secured bolts 31, 32 mounted to reciprocate in brackets 33, 34 and engage suitable openings in the threshold of the door way, said rods 29, 30 being pivoted at their inner ends to a common operating bar 5, which is held in looking position by means of a suitable cam latch and sealing device 36.

In Figure 4 I have shown the door made up of two sections 38, hinged together at 39, the hinge joint being covered by the substantially U shaped Weatherstrip 40 which overlaps the slightly spaced marginal flanges 41 of the door sections. As will be evident this construction allows both door sections 38 to either swing outwardly or inwardly as a unit on the hinge at the outer side of one of the door sections 38 with the door sections in alinement with each other where'the space is available for the purpose, or permits one section 38 to be swung inwardly and on the inner side of and parallel with the other door section 38 on a slight outward movement of the door, so that one side of the doorway only may be opened or the width of the door reduced to allow a full opening of the doorway without outward movement of the door in its normal or fullwidth condition. Also it will be seen that by the described arrangement of the hinge mem-' bers the hinge axes lie in the plane of the side walls of the container lying at right angles to the wall in which the doorway is arranged, so that the width of the doorway and door is approximately the same as the inside width of the container.

Sometimes containers are constructed without legs and are provided, as shown in Figure 7, with a depending plate 42 around its perimeter having an inturned flange 43. To strengthen the supporting plate I place a wood insert 44 between the flange 43 and the bottom of the container.

In Figure 8 I have shown the threshold of the doorway reinforced by a metal plate 45.

What I claim is:

1. A less than car load lots container having door openings, a combined container corner and door post for said openings, and a door hinged to said combined post.

2. A less than car load lots container having door openings in a plurality of its sides, a combined container corner and door post for said openings, and a door hinged to said combined post, and a packing between the door and post;

3. A less than car load lots container having a door opening extending substantially the full width and height of the inside dimension of the container to provide quick and easy access to the interior of the container in loading and unloading, a combined corner and door post at each side of the doorwaypresenting door jambs lying substantially in alinement with the side walls of the container at opposite sides of the doorway,

and a'door mounted to close against the jambs of door posts.

4. A less than car load lots container having a door opening extending substantially the full width and height of the inside dimension of the container, a combined corner and door post at each side of the doorway presenting door jambs lying substantially in alinement with the side walls of the container at opposite sides of the doorway, a door adapted to close against the jambs of said posts, a hinge element carried by the door, and a hinge element carried by one of said posts.

5. A less than car load lots container having a door opening extending substantially the full width and height of the inside dimension of the container, a combined corner and door post at each side of the doorway presenting a transverse jamb lying substantially in alinement with the adjacent side wall of the container at right angles to the wall in which the doorway is formed, a door adapted to close against the jambs of said posts, outwardly extended flanges at the marginal edges of said doors, a hinge element secured to one of said marginal flanges and a hinge element secured to one of said posts, said hinge elements being hingedly-united in line with the adjacent jamb.

6. A less than car load lots container having a door opening extending substantially the full 1-.

width and height of the container, a combined container corner and door post at each side of the door opening presenting an abutment flange extending transversely in advance of the front edge of the adjacent side of the door, a door 1 having outwardly extending marginal flanges, said door being adapted to close against said abutment faces of the posts, a hinge member secured to one of said flanges, a hinge member secured to one of the door posts, a pintle connecting said members and lying substantially in alinement with the side wall to which said post is secured, and a combined stiffener and weather strip secured to one of the flanges of the door and lying between said flange and the post of the hinged edge of the door.

7. A container of the character described having a doorway in one of its sides coextensive substantially with the full height and width of the container, a T-shaped combined corner and door post at each side of the doorway formed of a pair of L-shaped members presenting a transverse abutment surface lying in advance of the adjacent side wall of the container, a door comprising a pair of sections hinged at their relatively inner side edges, the outer side edges of said door sections being adapted to close against said abutment surfaces of the posts, and a hinge connection between one of the posts and the outer side edge of one of the door sections hav ing its hinging axis lying outwardly beyond the door and substantially in alinement with the adjacent side wall of the container.

8. A container of the character described having a doorway in one of its sides coextensive substantially with the full height and width of the container, a T-shaped combined corner and door post at each side of the doorway formed of a pair of L-shaped members presenting a transverse abutment surface lying in advance of the front edge of the adjacent side wall of the container, a door-comprising a pair of sections hinged at their relatively inner side edges, the outer side edges of said door sections being adapted to close against said abutment surfaces of the posts, a hinge connection between one of the posts and the outer side edge of one of the door sections having its hinging axis lying outwardly beyond the door and substantially in alinement with the adjacent side wall of the container, the said relatively inner hinged edges of the door sections being provided with outwardly extending flanges, and a substantially Z-shaped combined stiffener and weather strip having one of its terminal flanges secured to the flange of one of the door sections and its body portion extending outwardly at right angles therefrom parallel with said flanges of the door sections, and having its other terminal flange disposed transversely of the door to laterally overlap the flange of the other door section.

9. A container of the character described having a doorway in one of its sides of a height and width substantially coextensive with the height and width of the container, an L-shaped angle iron member at each side of the doorway having one of its flanges secured to the adjacent side wall of the container and having its other flange extending inwardly across the front edge of said side wall, a second L-shaped angle iron at each side of the door having one of its flanges extending forwardly in alinement with the firstnamed flange of the first-named angle iron and its other flange abutting the second-named flange of the first-named angle iron and secured thereto and forming therewith a T-shaped combined corner post and door jamb at said side of the doorway, a door adapted to close against said jambs, and a hinge connection between the door and one of said posts forming an axis on which the door swings lying substantially in alinement with said abutment surface and adjacent side wall of the container.

10. A container of the character described having a doorway in one of its sides of a height and Width substantially coextensive with the height and Width of the container, an L-shaped angle iron member at each side of the doorway having one of its flanges lying parallel with and secured to the adjacent side wall of the container and having its other flange extending inwardly across the front edge of said side wall, a angle iron at each side of the of its flanges extending forwardly in alinement with the first-named flange of the first-named angle iron and its other flange abutting the second-named flange of the first-named angle iron and secured thereto and forming therewith a T-shaped combinedcorner post and door jamb at said side of the doorway, a door adapted to close against said jambs, straps secured to the door and one of said door posts and having their outer ends projecting in advance of the post and provided with knuckles lying substantially in alinement with the adjacent side wall of the container, and a pivot pin connecting said knuckles.

GRAHAM C. WOODRUFF. 

